Skinny Baked Spaghetti {Healthy & Hearty}
It’s been a few years since I have made baked spaghetti, which is so weird because it used to be a favorite of mine. However, that just changed. I made this delicious Skinny Baked Spaghetti – a lighter version of a classic spaghetti casserole. The best part about this recipe is not only is it hearty and wholesome, but it’s lightened up to be healthier for you as well.
Both healthy and hearty, this wholesome dinner recipe favorite uses ancient grain pasta and the best spaghetti sauce ever. The sauce has tons of vegetables, light cheese (part skim mozzarella), and both ground turkey and turkey Italian sausage. A healthy baked spaghetti recipe is within reach – add it to your meal plan!
The excitement of back to school is behind us, so now that we’re settling into our routines we may find that we’re tiring out early. We need sustenance that provides long lasting energy.
I used the Ancient Grains pasta that’s a part of Catelli’s Healthy Harvest family. There are two reasons why Catelli Ancient Grains spaghetti is the perfect pasta for this dish:
- It’s going to give you slow burning energy, so it will keep you going for your after-dinner extra curricular’s (or after lunch to last you until dinner). You can thank the 100% whole grain pasta for that!
- A little goes a long way. With the ingredient list including whole grain durum wheat semolina and whole grain flour blend (quinoa, amaranth, millet, sorghum, and teff) you can bet that you’ll get fuller on less. This is great for those of us who are watching our portion sizes.
TBK’s Pro Tip: when it doubt, add parmesan. I add it to mashed potatoes and it always graces the top of my pasta dish. However, tossing it right in this hearty sauce gives it such a zest. Try it, I promise you – it will change your life.
Skinny Baked Spaghetti
Are you ready for one of the best comfort food dishes? The effort is worth it. The recipe may seem like a lot, but it’s not. It’s such an easy recipe to make and the most time-consuming part is letting the sauce simmer. Putting together the Skinny Baked Spaghetti is easier than pie.
I hope you and your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine.
Skinny Baked Spaghetti
This skinny baked spaghetti recipe is a lightened-up version of a classic spaghetti casserole. Both healthy and hearty, this wholesome dinner recipe favorite uses ancient grain pasta and the best spaghetti sauce ever. This sauce has tons of vegetables, light cheese (part skim mozzarella), and both ground turkey and turkey Italian sausage. A healthy baked spaghetti recipe is within reach, add it to your meal plan!
Servings 9 servings
Calories 491kcal
Ingredients
- 1 box Catelli Ancient Grains Spaghetti
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 lb turkey hot Italian sausage casings removed
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup white wine I used Pinot Grigio, but chicken broth works too
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 jar marinara sauce I used a fire roasted tomato and basil variety
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp – 1 tsp crushed red pepper start small and increase the heat by taste
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups part skim mozzarella
- Optional: additional 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.
Instructions
- In a large pot, over medium heat, add 1 tbsp of the olive oil.
- Add the ground turkey and squeeze the turkey and hot Italian sausage from the casings.
- Once the turkey is cooked, toss to a strainer and get rid of any additional fat.
- Add the last tablespoon of the olive oil back into the pan (leaving some of the hot Italian sausage fat) and add the onion and green pepper. Saute until onion is see-through and add the garlic. Stir around for a minute and add the wine. Let the wine deglaze the pan and reduce until there isn’t much left.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, marinara, oregano, sugar, salt and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the meat, stir and cover. Cook for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the parmesan cheese and parsley. Cook for another 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves.
- In the last 10 minutes of cooking the sauce, cook the Catelli Ancient Grains spaghetti, following the instructions on the box.
- Pre heat oven to 350.
- Scoop two cups of the sauce onto the bottom of a casserole pan. Lay half the pasta over, add another couple of cups of sauce, and sprinkle with ½ cup part skim mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat for one more layer.
- On the top layer, add 1 cup of part skim mozza and ½ cup parmesan.
- Bake until the cheese browns and bubbles.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 491kcal | Carbohydrates: 47.4g | Protein: 37.6g | Fat: 16.3g | Saturated Fat: 4.8g | Cholesterol: 86.6mg | Sodium: 883mg | Fiber: 5.1g | Sugar: 12.5g
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Do you have a fall pasta favorite that’s both healthy and hearty? Share with me your photos (and recipes) on how you serve up comfort using #CatelliFamilies on social media (don’t forget to tag me) and in the comments below.
To learn more about Catelli and the pasta products they offer visit catelli.ca/
This Skinny Baked Spaghetti recipe has been sponsored by my friends over at Catelli. I am being compensated as their brand ambassador but all opinions are 100% my own.
This looks great! Thanks for sharing with the Delicious Dishes Recipe party!
Looks great, just wondering on the 90 minutes simmering?
You don’t have to simmer that long but I swear it makes it taste better. It gives more time for the flavours to blend!
How many servings does this yield?
Honestly, it depends on how much you use. I’d say 8 modest servings.
why do you put both crushed tomatoes AND marinara sauce in the ingredients when you don’t even address the crushed tomatoes in the instructions? Also, what size can of tomato paste and chicken broth (if you substitute for wine)
Whoops looks like I wrote tomato sauce instead of crushed tomatoes. It’s fixed in the directions now. 🙂
I don’t know if we have them in different sizes here in Canada, but I have only ever noticed them in the smaller can size. It’s roughly 3-4 tbsps. Chicken broth would be the same measurement for wine – 1 cup.
What size casserole dish do you use?
Hey Hannah, I believe this was a 9×13 dish 🙂
Great article. Keep posting such kind of information on your page. I’m really impressed by your blog.
Thanks for writing about this. In fact, after the pandemic began, my wife and I seem to have tried every dish we could find and now we are on the lookout again. Naturally, after that, we put on a little weight and because of the lockdown and in general the danger of the pandemic, we stayed at home as much as possible and now would like to adjust the diet in order to slightly correct what happened. It seems to me that your recipe should help us, as you are using the healthiest foods to prepare it.